As we head toward the end of 2024, plastic surgery may not be at the forefront of most people's minds, but the cosmetic trends sought by influencers, celebrities and others may impact the type of physical aesthetics we see on our screens and streets next year.
Plastic surgeon and reconstructive microsurgeon Dr. Dhivya Srinivasa, founder of The Institute for Advanced Breast Reconstruction in Los Angeles, California, told Newsweek about the trends she expects to crop up in 2025.
Firstly, she said, there will be fewer Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) and more "yoga boobs," as she called them. BBLs involve taking fat from some sections of the body—usually around the belly—and redistributing it to the bottom, hips and thighs to create an hourglass figure and large buttocks.
"We are already seeing a decrease in Brazilian butt lift requests," said Srinivasa. "Women are moving more toward athletic frames with smaller breasts—I call them 'yoga boobs'—and more proportionate bums."
Srinivasa said the reporting of severe complications in some BBLs, which are known for being risky procedures, was one reason why this was happening. She said: "The bad press definitely did not help."
As smaller breasts gain popularity, Srinivasa said breast implants were falling out of favor.
"Women are increasingly aware of what goes in their bodies," she said. "With rising breast cancer rates and more scrutiny about what we eat and what we put in our bodies, implants are becoming less popular."
That's not to say that breast augmentation procedures will come to a halt, but Srinivasa said that women opting to enlarge their breasts would be more likely to choose more natural procedures.
"Plastic surgeons have numerous ways they can augment a breast using natural tissue," she said. "There will be a spike in requests for this procedure in 2025."
Another trend Srinivasa expects to see in 2025 is more skin-tightening procedures, following the growing popularity of weight loss drugs such as Wegovy.
"As the use of Ozempic and other semaglutides skyrockets, we will be seeing increased numbers of people with loose skin from weight loss," she said. "Here's the thing; it's not enough just to cut away the extra skin with plastic surgery, we need to tighten the skin."
Srinivasa said she expected to see more "skin-tightening technologies" used alongside other plastic surgery procedures to "tighten skin for a more youthful appearance."
Youth is often the focus of cosmetic procedures, but Srinivasa said that youthful hands could be a new focus next year.
"Seems crazy, but this one will be huge," she said. "I always say if you want to know someone's true age, look at their neck and hands.
"Hands are often exposed to the UV rays and people forget to treat their hands like they do their face. Rejuvenation procedures including lasers, peels and filler will rise in popularity in 2025."
Filler was the subject of Srinivasa's final two predictions. She said that people were increasingly opting for laser and peel treatments over fillers, and for a milder use of filler.
"Adding filler to bad skin makes no sense," said Srinivasa. "More and more people are obtaining routine lasers and peels. This overall improves the skin's texture and appearance, which then requires less injectables.
"There is less emphasis on camouflaging issues with makeup, and more on having great skin to begin with." For this reason she said she thought there would be "an uptick" in requests for hyaluronic acid treatments.
"Women are moving away from overfilled lips," she added. "We have seen it go wrong too many times. We still like volume though, so I believe we'll see women looking to find a happy balance between using Botox and less filler to achieve fullness without looking overfilled."
People were becoming more aware of the complications that could occur with too much filler, said Srinivasa, with images of "overfilled faces" circulating online to "notable criticism."
"We did that for a decade," she said. "Less is more."
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